


of snow and silence

by poppyleaf



Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Snowball Fight, mostly fluff tho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:28:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28239228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poppyleaf/pseuds/poppyleaf
Summary: Brambleclaw hates snow. Squirrelflight intends to change that.
Relationships: Brambleclaw/Squirrelflight (Warriors)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 19





	of snow and silence

A cold wind blew through the forest, rattling the bare branches of the trees overhead and making Squirrelflight shiver. She ruffled up her fur in an attempt to shield herself against the freezing breeze.

Next to her, Brambleclaw hissed crossly as he tried to pick his way through the snow, his eyes narrowed irritatedly. Squirrelflight had to stifle a laugh as he suddenly slipped, almost falling face-first into a drift of snow. Brambleclaw shot her an annoyed glance as he shook out his fur. “This isn’t funny!” he remarked angrily. “This weather is awful! We’re lucky if we’ll manage to catch anything!”

Squirrelflight sighed but kept quiet. Yes, of course, the snow made it hard to catch prey - most animals stayed in their burrows, and it was much easier than usual to spot Squirrelflight’s ginger fur. But great StarClan, why did Brambleclaw always have to be so negative? Couldn’t he see the beauty in the snowy landscape, the magic in the frost-covered trees? And didn’t he enjoy the warm, cozy feeling of coming back to camp after a long day and snuggling up in the warrior’s den, slowly feeling the warmth seep into cold limbs?

Apparently, he couldn’t, Squirrelflight decided to herself as Brambleclaw muttered under his breath, cursing the snow and the cold and Leaf-bare in general. _Stupid furball_ , she thought. _The snow isn’t going to magically vanish just because you’d like it to_.

Suddenly an idea appeared in her mind. Maybe there was a way to show Brambleclaw that snow wasn’t as terrible as he thought. It would be risky, sure, and if she failed, he would probably just hate snow even more and would be angry at her, but she decided that she was willing to take that risk. _Besides, it’s going to be fun. If not for him, then at least for me_.

She looked over to Brambleclaw, who was busy trying to follow a scent under a bush close by, as a plan began to form in her mind. _Perfect. He’s distracted. He’s not paying any attention to me at all_.

While he still had his back turned to her, she surveyed the snow beneath her paws. It would be ideal for what she had in mind. Slowly, she scooped up a pawful and formed it into a tight clump, making sure that Brambleclaw didn’t hear. Then, she lifted her paws, aimed, and threw the clump of snow in Brambleclaw’s direction. The dark tabby hissed in surprise and turned around, looking startled, as the snow hit his flank. Squirrelflight couldn’t stifle a laugh at the bewildered expression on his face.

Brambleclaw’s gaze fell on the snow that still clung to him, then to Squirrelflight, immediately making the connection. “Really, Squirrelflight? A snowball fight?” he asked.

Squirrelflight tried her best to look innocent, like she always had when she had been little and Sandstorm had found out about one of her pranks. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Brambleclaw shook out his fur. “Whatever, just don’t do it again. We’re here to hunt, not play games like kits.”

Squirrelflight nodded earnestly, although privately she thought that Brambleclaw definitely had not seen the last of it. The second he had turned around again, she scooped up another pawful and threw it at him. This time, the hiss he let out was one of annoyance, not surprise, as he whipped around and threw an irritated glance at her.

“Squirrelflight, I-”

He broke off as the next snowball landed on him, this time on his side. Squirrelflight tried her best to hold back the laughter that was welling up inside of her but to no avail.

Brambleclaw looked at her exasperatedly. “Can’t we just hunt without-” Another snowball hit him.

Brambleclaw sighed, but Squirrelflight could see his eyes beginning to gleam as a smile began to form on his face. She couldn’t tell if Brambleclaw was actually starting to secretly enjoy himself, or if he just realized that Squirrelflight wouldn’t continue the hunt without a snowball fight. His smile began to turn into a confident smirk as he formed a snowball and aimed it at Squirrelflight. She tried to move out of the way, but the snow still hit her flank, making her yelp in surprise at the cold sensation.

Brambleclaw grinned triumphantly. “Not so bad, was it?”

Squirrelflight decided to respond with another snowball aimed at Brambleclaw’s chest, but the tabby quickly skirted to the side, dodging the snow. He immediately scooped up another pawful and flung it at Squirrelflight, who managed to duck underneath it. From the look on Brambleclaw’s face, Squirrelflight could tell that he was having fun.

As he formed another snowball, Squirrelflight realized she had an even better idea. Lowering herself into a hunter’s crouch, she aimed at a spot on his back. Jumping high, she landed on his shoulders, pushing him down into the snow. Brambleclaw tensed in surprise. He turned, attempting to throw her off him, but Squirrelflight just pressed him deeper into the snow.

“I win!” she mumbled in his ear, making her voice sound as smug as she could.

“That wasn’t fair! You surprised me.”

“Surprise is a warrior’s-” “-greatest weapon, I know.” Brambleclaw finished, quoting one of Firestar’s favorite phrases. “Now could you please get off me?”

Squirrelflight paused, pretending to think. “I don’t know, maybe? If you promise to only bring me the best fresh-kill and always clean out my nest for the next moon, then I’ll think about it.”

Brambleclaw snorted. “You’ll be lucky if I don’t make you do every single dawn patrol for the next moon,” he retorted, although his voice was teasing.

“Alright, alright, keep your fur on.”

As Squirrelflight loosened her grip, ready to get off his back, Brambleclaw suddenly surged upward, flipping them both over so that she lay on her back, Brambleclaw on top of her. Now it was his turn to look smug. “Surprised?” he asked innocently.

“Now that was unfair.”

“I’m sorry, but what was I supposed to do? Let you win? Besides, you said it yourself: Surprise is-” “Yes, I got it.” Squirrelflight rolled her eyes affectionately. _Mouse-brain_. “Now move over, I’m getting cold!”

Brambleclaw stepped aside to let her stand up. Squirrelflight shook out her fur. She felt chilled to the bone, and from the way Brambleclaw was shivering, Squirrelflight assumed he felt the same. Still, he was smiling, his gaze warm. _Seems like he did have fun_ , Squirrelflight remarked to herself.

“Should we get going?” she asked. “It might help us warm up.” Brambleclaw nodded, but before he could answer, a snowflake drifted down from the sky and landed straight on his nose. Squirrelflight purred while all around her even more snow fell to the ground.

Brambleclaw shook out his fur that was already covered in a thin layer of snow. “We should seek shelter,” he pointed out, looking skeptically at the sky. “The snow just keeps getting stronger, and we’re already cold. Let’s wait until it has stopped snowing. Most of the prey will be hiding anyway.” Gazing around her, Squirrelflight had to admit he was right. It was snowing stronger now, the cold seeping uncomfortably through her fur.

“Let’s head to the abandoned Twoleg nest,” she suggested, knowing that it wasn’t far off. Brambleclaw nodded, and the two set out while all around them the snow kept falling steadily. 

  


It wasn’t long until the walls of the abandoned Twoleg nest appeared in front of them. It kept snowing and snowing, and Squirrelflight was beginning to have trouble seeing anything around her. _Seeking shelter is a good idea_ , she thought, shivering from the cold. Her fur was coated in snow now, and she felt as if her paws were starting to freeze. Relief filled her as she entered the Twoleg nest. It wasn’t particularly warm or cozy, but it was sheltered from the snow and would be a good spot to wait until the snowing had stopped. Brambleclaw followed her, shaking out his fur. “It was a good idea to come here,” he remarked, echoing Squirrelflight’s thoughts. She mumbled agreement and turned to him, ready to give him a proper answer - and had to stop herself from bursting out laughing. Brambleclaw’s wet fur stuck up on all sides, making him look like a giant hedgehog. As hard as she tried, she couldn’t contain a giggle at the sight.

“What?” Brambleclaw asked, clearly confused. “What is it?”

“I think your warrior name should have been Hedgehogpelt,” she pressed out, still laughing.

Brambleclaw turned to look at the fur on his flank. He shrugged, turning back to her. “You don’t look so good either,” he pointed out. “I think Firestar should have called you-” he paused, eyeing her carefully. “Pineconefur,” he ended.

Squirrelflight stared at him. “Pineconefur? That sounds awful. You’re really terrible at naming, you know that?”

“As if Hedgehogpelt sounds any better,” he argued.

“Still better than Pineconefur. Great StarClan, I really hope you’ll never become leader. I already pity all the poor warriors who you’ll give awful names.”

“I’m sure all of them would be very happy with the names I’d give them,” he defended himself.

Squirrelflight rolled her eyes. “Tell that to the poor cat who you’ll name Pineconefur. I’m sure they’ll be forever grateful that their leader is so good at picking names.”

Brambleclaw cocked his head to his side, eyes gleaming. “So you’re saying that if we ever have kits, I won’t get to name them?” he asked, his voice teasing.

Squirrelflight was already thinking of a good response when Brambleclaw’s words truly sunk in. _If we ever have kits_. Squirrelflight shuddered, but not from the cold. Her mind went blank while Yellowfang’s words echoed in her thoughts. _You’ll never have kits of your own, Squirrelflight. This is your only chance of ever being a mother_. She shook her head, trying to banish the memory, but the images of Leafpool’s pleading face stayed with her. _You have to help me, Squirrelflight. Please! You have to take them!_

“Squirrelflight! Are you still here? Squirrelflight!” Squirrelflight was jerked out of her thoughts by a paw prodding her side. Brambleclaw was looking at her, seeming slightly worried. “Are you okay?”

Squirrelflight nodded, searching for a good response. “Of course,” she mumbled, avoiding his gaze.

“Really? I- I didn’t make you uncomfortable, did I?”

“Huh?” she asked, confused.

“With the kits, I mean. I mean, I don’t even know if you want to have kits, or if you want to have kits with me… Maybe you want to have kits with someone else, or maybe not at all… What I was trying to say is we don’t need to have kits right now, I guess, or ever, I… We don’t have to- But we can… I-” Brambleclaw was awkwardly staring down at his paws.

Squirrelflight leaned closer to him. “I’d love to have kits one day. With you,” she whispered. _Really, I would. But I’m never going to have kits. I can’t, and I want to tell you, I swear. I just don’t know how to say it_.

Brambleclaw relaxed, obviously relieved that he hadn’t offended her, clearly not having noticed Squirrelflight’s distress. _Good. I’m not ready to talk to him about it yet… Honestly, I’m not sure if I’ll ever be_. Still, she felt uncomfortable and didn’t want to be reminded of Yellowfang’s words.

“So, why do you hate snow so much?” she asked, trying to sound cheerful and hoping that Brambleclaw wouldn’t notice the sudden change of topic. He looked up startled, as if he hadn’t expected the question. Then he shrugged but avoided her gaze.

“It makes hunting much harder, which in turn means we can’t feed the Clan. It worries me, that’s all.”

Something about his nonchalant tone sounded too casual, too forced. Squirrelflight decided that he clearly wasn’t telling her the whole truth. “But that’s not everything, right?”

Brambleclaw paused, awkwardly fidgeting with his paws. He was silent for quite a while until he took a deep breath.

“No,” he confessed. “That wasn’t everything. I-” he broke off, searching for words. “It’s all so silent, you know?” he burst out. “When it snows, I mean. You can’t hear anything, and- And I guess that’s what bothers me so much.”

Squirrelflight cocked her head to her side. “Why?” she asked.

Brambleclaw still didn’t look at her. “I don’t like being alone with my thoughts. It’s not so bad in Greenleaf. There’s prey everywhere, there are so many sounds and smells that distract me from- from thinking too much, I guess. But now, in Leaf-bare, it’s just… there are no sounds of prey, no smells, no chirping birds... It’s as if everything is muted because of the snow, and nothing is there to distract me, and I keep thinking and thinking about things I actually try to forget.”

He broke off, staring at the ground. Then he shook his head. “I’m sorry. You probably think I’m weird now.”

Squirrelflight shrugged. “Not weirder than usual.” Then she quickly became serious again. “What… what are you thinking about?” she asked tentatively. “Is it, you know, about your father?”

“My father, my brother, my sister, my mother, myself… It’s about everything.” He paused. “Sometimes I just… I wonder if it could have been different. If I could have changed something, had I tried harder… I can’t help feeling that if I had noticed sooner, maybe I could have saved Hawkfrost. Maybe it didn’t have to end like this. And maybe… maybe I could have gotten Tawnypelt to stay in ThunderClan, and then I wouldn’t feel so alone all the time.”

He gazed out at the snow-covered landscape. Squirrelflight pressed closer to him, noticing that it had stopped snowing. “You feel alone?” she asked, realizing that she had never known about that. _There’s a lot about him that I don’t know_ , she thought. Yellowfang’s words filled her mind again. _But then again, there’s also a lot that he doesn’t know about me_.

“Sometimes,” he confessed in a quiet voice. “It’s better now, but I- I guess I’m scared of what will happen when Goldenflower isn’t around anymore. She- she’s not going to live forever, and she keeps getting frailer, although I know that she doesn’t want me to notice. I feel like she’s the only one who actually understands me, and… I just can’t lose her. I know that without her, I’ll feel even more lonely,” he finished quietly.

Squirrelflight gently nudged his shoulder. “You’re not alone, you know? You have me, and I’m not going anywhere.” Brambleclaw nodded, leaning down to brush his muzzle against hers. “Yeah.” He pressed closer to her. “I’ve still got you.”

He turned back to gaze at the forest outside until he suddenly straightened up again. “We’d better get going, now that it’s not snowing anymore,” he pointed out briskly. “We still need to hunt for the Clan. Are you coming?” he asked, making his way out of the Twoleg nest.

Squirrelflight felt startled by the sudden change in his demeanor. He’d been so honest right now while talking about his feelings. _I guess he regrets sharing so much with me. It was probably too personal_. She watched Brambleclaw pad to the entrance of the nest, where he stopped and turned back to her. His gaze softened again.

“Squirrelflight?”

“Yes?”

Brambleclaw looked down at the ground again. “Thank you. For listening, I mean. It- it felt good to talk. And I- I had a lot of fun today, you know?”

Squirrelflight felt a smile spread across her face. It felt good to hear that. “Good,” she pointed out jokingly. “Because I won’t stop trying to make you enjoy snow.”

Brambleclaw smiled as well, gazing gently at her. “I think I’m already starting to like it.”

**Author's Note:**

> This one-shot was written for KatieK101's December One-Shot contest on Tumblr. The prompt was "Character A really hates snow but Character B is determined to change their mind."


End file.
